ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- In a game of runs, the Northwestern (Iowa) College men's basketball team recorded a 76-60 victory over Bellevue University in the Bruins' final game of the Northwestern Basketball Classic Saturday evening at the Bultman Center.
The loss evened the Bruins' record to 3-3 on the season. The Raiders moved to 2-0 overall.
Both squads received votes in the NAIA Top 25 Pre-Season Poll.
Keshawn Bruner led the Bruins with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Jaylen Wiltz added 11 points, two rebounds, and a pair of assists. Jemeil King was the third Bruin in double figures, finishing with 10 points along with four rebounds.
Alex Van Kaisbeek led four Raiders in double figures, registering a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Trent Hilbrands tallied 15 points and four boards. Craig Sterk finished with a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Fueled by Bruner's nine points, the Bruins battled back from an early 15-7 deficit, going on a 15-0 run to take a 22-15 lead at the midway point of the first half. The Raiders responded with 12-straight points to regain the lead at 27-22 with 5:45 left before halftime.
The two teams traded five-point runs before NWC took a 38-29 advantage into the intermission.
Bruner led BU in the first half with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. King added seven points and three rebounds.
Van Kaisbeek and Van Egdom both scored eight points to pace the Raiders in the opening half.
The Raiders scored the first seven points of the second half to expand the margin to 16 points at 45-29.
A 3-pointer by Jay Small expanded the NWC lead to 21 points at 58-37 with 10:50 left in the game.
A 13-0 BU run drew the Bruins to within single digits at eight points (65-57) at the four-minute mark.
That was as close as BU would get as the Bruins went scoreless in the final 2:24 of the contest and NWC cruised to the 76-60 victory.
The Bruins will compete in the Baptist Bible College Classic next Friday-Saturday, Nov. 13-14 in Springfield, Mo.
